For Rachel’s 1st birthday she had a princess birthday cake with a Barbie-type doll in the centre.

It has only taken me 6 years to make her a similarly styled cake, and here is how to do it!

A real doll is in the centre of the cake and the cake itself forms the puffy skirt of her princess dress.

Ingredients:

for cake

500g butter

500g sugar

7 eggs

500g flour

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

for topping

1kg icing sugar

500g butter

food colouring

ready to roll icing in white and another colour

How to:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Cream together the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy.

Stir in the eggs and vanilla essence.

Sieve in the flour.

Divide the mix into 5 bowls.

(If you wish to colour your cake, add some food colouring to each bowl.)

Bake 4 of the layers in greased and lined 7 inch cake pans for around 25-30 minutes per layer.
The 5th layer is to form the top of a dome so this needs to be baked in a glass, ovenproof bowl.

Allow each layer to cool and then pop into the freezer to harden for an hour- take particular care when removing the dome shaped cake from the bowl.

Stack the cakes on top of each other and use a small round cookie cutter to cut a whole into the centre of each cake.

Layer the cakes with icing in between and then use a spatula and pallet knife to crumb coat the cakes with your frosting. Cover completely and then pop into the fridge overnight.

Insert your doll into the centre of the cake.

Now you are ready to complete the icing, however you wish to and dependant on your piping ability.

I piped blue icing in a circular motion starting in the centre and working outwards – it vaguely resembles roses.

Then I star-piped pink icing around the waistband and base of the dress.

I used the playdoh sweet shoppe moulds to make some decorative items for the dress – mini roses, flowers, butterflies and hearts – with the ready-rolled icing and pressed one into the centre of each of the swirls of blue icing. I also used ready to roll icing to fashion the corset top of the dress on the doll.